Coming Up: October 9th, 2011 - Long Beach International Marathon and Half-Marathon

Less than 5 days away and I'll be among a crowd of 25,000+ walkers, runners, and cyclists participating in the annual Long Beach Int'l Marathon, Half-Marathon, 26.2 Bike Ride, and Run Forrest Run 5K... wow, that's a whole lot of stuff going on. No wonder there's such a huge crowd!

Me, I'm going for the Half. I've never participated in a 10K before and only ran one previous half marathon (just about 4 months prior). Well, in 1991 I did participate in the Dockweiler Beach 5K. It wasn't a very memorable event, other than the fact I recall I didn't enjoy it. I kept thinking, "What the heck is a 5K? Why are we using Metric? Is that 2.1 miles or 3 or 5 miles?! How many inches are in a Yard - do we convert to Meters? Why am I here?!" Such misery. Where was I going with this?  ...hmmm...  oh yes, never mind all that reflection and dribble - just a little reflection on the numerous comments by fellow participants in the upcoming Long Beach run on the Facebook page dedicated to the event, as well as comments made on other sites such as Active.com and the like. I hear it over and over again, "HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE... or you'll die a suffering, slow death." Okay, I added the last part, but the hydrate X3 dominates many of the postings - I'm sure with good intent, but for us new to all this, we can easily fall into that trap, especially after reading it over and over. I mean, honestly, who enjoys the feeling of heavy thirst and dehydration while running a half or full marathon?

Don't do it. Always remember the adage: Drink to thirst. Rely on your thirst (listen to what your body is telling you) to limit excess hydration practices. Our bodies aren't designed to store water like that. In trying to achieve a state of pre-hydration, this practice tends to flush out our precious electrolytes, most particularly sodium levels, that ultimately we'll need during our endurance activities. Yes, there is such a thing as water intoxication... in it's most serious form, it can lead one's body down the path to exercise induced hyponatremia. Those at risk in endurance sports involve activities lasting 3 hours or longer - typical symptoms include nausea, muscle cramps, weakness or spasms, disorientation, headache pain.  

I know, but once you're thirsty, your body is already in a state of dehydration. But realistically, we need to lose 1 to 2 percent of water before our bodies will reliably kick in the drink to thirst response - not a significant amount of dehydration to have detrimental health effects. Will it affect performance? Yes, it may, but not as adverse as the opposite end. Keep in mind this is more applicable to us beginners; those entering the stages of running half and full marathons where our experiences may not have included an exposure to hyponatremia, but rather, the constant barrage of advice to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Again, listen to what your body is telling you ...it's the best advice giver after all. Also, take a look at the expected weather of the event - if you're planning on a daytime race through the Gobi Desert or Death Valley, then hydrate along the way! If you're looking at mild to cool temps in a morning half/full marathon, such as Long Beach in October, don't sweat it.  ...hold on a sec... okay, I got it... I just made a joke. Get it? "Don't sweat it?" Never mind.

Resources: International Marathon Medical Directors Association (IMMDA); Georgetown University Medical Center; and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)